Last month, my friend Lori asked me what I thought about Stephen King movies. She knows I'm a big fan of the writer, but we all know the movies based on his work have been a mixed bag, to say the least. There have been some truly incredible adaptations (The Shining, Stand by Me, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile), and some that were… well, not so good (and I'm sure we all can think of a few). But regardless of how they turn out to be, I'm always interested. That's why I went to see 1408 two days ago, when it opened.1408 (and this might explain a certain room number in Onondawa, Hal) is based on the short story of the same title by Stephen King that you can find in Everything's Eventual, a great book packed with cool stories. It is the story of Mike Enslin (wonderfully played by John Cusack), a writer specialized in spending the night at allegedly haunted places and then writing about what he did (or didn't) experience there. Needless to say, Enslin finds himself in The Dolphin Hotel's room 1408, a room in which he is assured people die after an hour of being there.
The movie is pretty much John Cusack and little else, and it's an intense, interesting film that keeps you on the edge of your seat, wondering what's going to happen next. I think the most interesting thing is what Cusack has to ask himself: am I going crazy? Am I losing my mind? This is a recurrent topic in King's fiction (before going to The Rave I had just finished reading The Library Policeman, in which main character Sam Peebles asks himself that very same question), and I think it makes for a pretty spooky tale. Just try to imagine arriving to one point in which you end up questioning your sanity. Really questioning it. They say crazy people never doubt they're sane, but, is it true? How would you know if your grasp on reality started to slowly slip away? I think that's a terrifying thought, and it's well developed in the movie.
The bottomline is that, while 1408 is by no means The Shawshank Redemption or The Green Mile, it is a very enjoyable movie that manages to unnerve and unsettle without blood, gore, and in-your-face brutality. In other words, it's not what is nowadays called torture porn (Saw, Hostel). It's just a spooky movie, and very effective at that.
8 comments:
From the reviews, I think 1408 looks pretty scary. Which I guess pretty much guarantees that Alberto won't go see it with me.
Ah, well. With the "economía de guerra" and all that, we may have to wait for video, anyway. What I really want to see now is Sicko when it comes out June 29.
About the whole questioning your sanity thing, I don't think that people who are insane never question their mental state. On the contrary, I sometimes think it is the fact that they doubt themselves that may push them over the brink.
I have a chapter in my dissertation about insanity and how it can function as a sort of heterotopia (alternate or "other" space), at least within the literary works I examine. It works as an escape from the harsh reality in which some of the characters live (1990s Cuba). The concept of purposefully delving into a questionable mental state, even at the risk of not being able to return to your original state, is intriguing.
I'm looking forward to seeing this film! Even though I will have to wait for the DVD.
Well, had I known you wanted to see it, and had I been in Athens, we could have seen it together :(
Sicko looks interesting --and definitely controversial, like everything Moore does. Not that this movie will change the system, unfortunately...
And I don't know if insane people question their mental state or not. I'm not an expert, and I'm glad I'm not, hahaha. Regardless of whether this happens or not, I think it's an interesting topic to power stories. And I certainly agree with you: this making yourself go crazy is intriguing indeed!
Fel said: "1408 (and this might explain a certain room number in Onondawa, Hal)"
HEHEHE!! Good insightful new old knowledge, Fel, thank you.
About the crazyness issue, I agree. It's pretty intriguing, and I really hadn't thought of it before.
Anyway, never heard of 1408, and now I'm anxious to see it. Are you pleased now, Fel? ;P
Hehehe. Yes, I am. And you're welcome.
I was telling my mom about the movie, and she said it sounded good and would like to see it. I told her the title was 1408, but you know how they like to change movie titles in Spain, so, for all I know, they might end up calling it La habitación del terror. I wouldn't be surprised.
HAHAHAHA!!!
You bet. I suppose there's a good reason for the all that moviechangingness here in Spain. Legal issues or something. But that doesn't even begins to justify the kind of titles we see here. An example: Michelle Trachtenberg's Ice Princess here is called Soñando, Soñando... Triunfé Patinando. WTF?
Hahahaahha. WTF indeed. One of the titles I always mention when I talk about this phenomenon is Renny Harlin's The Long Kiss Goodnight, with Geena Davis & Samuel L. Jackson. In Spanish, Memoria Letal. Con un par.
Hahahaha. That's a good one.
Recuerdo un viejo chiste de Gila que decía más o menos así:
"Fuimos a ver una película titulada La Increíble Hisatoria de la Chica del Verano en el que Llovió Tanto que se Multiplicaron los Resbalones y Hubo Decenas de Accidentes de Tráfico. Su título original era Sheesh".
Hahaha. Pues algo así.
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